Greenville hoping to attract Michelin investment

Is Michelin planning to expand its Greenville, South Carolina site in the US? The greenvilleonline.com news site says local officials may offer the tyre maker incentives to do so. On 3 December it reported the existence of tax documents that show Michelin North America is seeking a property tax break from Greenville County Council in exchange for a possible expansion in the local area. But any growth plans depend upon any effect the upcoming reduction in the US budget deficit – the fiscal cliff, as it’s known in the US – may have on the economy.

According to the website, on 4 December County Council chairman Burch Kirven said the tyre maker was “kind of waiting on the fiscal cliff to get settled down before they make any hard decisions.” Michelin, on its part, has remained silent. Company spokesman Craig Hodges was quoted as saying Michelin North America is “always looking into investment opportunities” but has nothing to report “at this time.”

Nevertheless, an ordinance up for vote at a council meeting scheduled for 4 December indicates that Michelin’s manufacturing expansion, if it goes ahead, is “expected to generate substantial investment and/or job creation in the county.” If the tyre maker creates at least 125 jobs and spends at least US$150 million on a new facility or at least $400 million on other projects, it may be eligible for a so-called “super” fee in lieu of regular property taxes; this would reduce its assessment ratio from 10.5 per cent to four percent.

Councilman Bob Taylor, chairman of the county’s Finance Committee, said Greenville County is competing with other counties in South Carolina, as well as other states and countries, for the possible Michelin investment. “This is potentially a very good thing and also a big project for Greenville,” he said. “And I suspect they’ll have an announcement before the first of the year.”